World on a Wire (1973) 2011

Here’s a rephrased version of the given section:

In the present day, Cybernetics and Future Science’s (Institut für Kybernetik und Zukunftsforschung) cutting-edge supercomputer hosts a simulation program that recreates an artificial world teeming with over 9,000 “identity units” living as human beings. Unbeknownst to them, their reality is nothing more than a sophisticated digital construct. As the technical director of this program, Professor Vollmer (Adrian Hoven) stands on the cusp of a groundbreaking discovery, his excitement and anticipation building until he meets an untimely demise under mysterious circumstances. His successor, Dr. Fred Stiller, inherits Vollmer’s secrets, but before he can unravel the truth, Günther Lause, the institute’s security adviser, vanishes without a trace, leaving behind only whispers of his existence.

Meanwhile, within this simulated world, one identity unit, driven by despair, attempts to take its own life. In an effort to maintain stability, Walfang, Stiller’s colleague, discreetly deletes the struggling unit. Seeking answers for this tragic event, Stiller ventures into the simulated realm, seeking guidance from Einstein, a singular entity that possesses knowledge of the artificial nature of their world. Einstein, having transcended his digital confines by switching minds with Walfang, imparts wisdom to Stiller, revealing the true nature of reality: that their “real world” is itself a simulation, a mere reflection of an even higher plane.

As Stiller’s perception of reality shatters, he succumbs to madness. The authorities, skeptical of his claims, threaten him with death, incarceration, and involuntary commitment. Yet, Stiller manages to persuade Dr. Hahn, the IKZ psychologist, of his radical theory. Tragically, Hahn meets a premature demise, precipitating suspicion that Stiller is responsible for both her murder and Vollmer’s mysterious passing.

As desperation mounts, Stiller (in parentheses) embarks on a perilous quest to locate the enigmatic contact unit capable of bridging the chasm between his virtual existence and the tangible realm. His odyssey is marked by a series of harrowing close calls, as he narrowly evades would-be assassins determined to snuff out his life force. Amidst this maelstrom of danger, Stiller’s search leads him to Eva, a woman whose digital form was conjured into being following the untimely demise of Vollmer (as his non-existent daughter). Initially wary but gradually warming to her presence, Stiller is convinced that they shared a romantic past, a notion that Eva later confirms by revealing that she had loved a man named Fred Stiller, a brilliant and ruthless simulator who became consumed by an insatiable thirst for power as he manipulated the fabric of reality from his perch above. Meanwhile, Stiller’s programming dictates that his existence is destined to be extinguished in a calculated ambush, but Eva intervenes, effecting a daring mind-swap between the two Stillers - the simulated version and its real-world counterpart - thereby transplating the digital entity into the tangible realm.